Director – Richard Mogg (Hot Chicks Blast Uranus, Bigfoot Ate My Boyfriend)
Starring – Kirk Munawaeera (Earth Girls Are Sleazy, Easter Bunny Bloodbath 2: No More Tears), Richard Mogg, and Elaine Thrash Oliveira (The Masks We Wear, Cute Exorcist)
Release Date – 2022
Rating – 2.5/5
Richard Mogg, founder of Rickmoe Productions, is one of my favorite indie filmmakers. His sense of humor and style is something that has always drawn me to his films. Easter Bunny Bloodbath is what drawn me to his films but since then I’ve fell in love with most of his releases like Massage Parlor of Death, Teenage Slumber Party Nightmare, Bigfoot Ate My Boyfriend, and many more.
I wasn’t really a fan of his last film Hot Chicks Blast Uranus, but the title is among one of the best I have seen. When he announced his new film Ogopogo: The Mythical Snake from the Lake I was ready for another Rickmoe flick! Richard soon reached out to me and sent over a review copy. Like always I want to thank Richard for supporting Horror Society and myself.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows John (Munaweera) who finds himself in British Columbia hunting down the lake monster Ogopogo. His hunt catches the eye of filmmaker Richard Mogg who comes out of an early retirement to film John and the creature. Along the way John falls in love and discovers he has a closer tie to the creature than he expected. **Spoiler Alert**
It pains me to say this because I love and respect the hell out of Richard Mogg but I was not a fan of this one. It just didn’t have the same sense of humor and tone as the other films I’ve seen from him. When you mix that with the lack story and cliched characters that made Mogg’s previous films so much fun you are left with something that felt rushed and lacked the heart that made me fall in love with Rickmoe Productions.
The acting in this one is exactly like I was expecting. Munaweera returns as the iconic John Saurius, the bigfoot investigator that finds himself in hazardous situations. I’ve always liked his stiff performances and how he is so easily incorporated into these films. I was also surprised by director Richard Mogg’s performance playing himself. He really did catch me off guard by how comfortable he is in front of the camera and how he interacted with the rest of the cast. It was very natural. With that being said, a good bit of the rest of the cast felt a bit awkward and rushed. They quickly fly through their dialogue and move on as if it was like a practice run or table reading.
The story for this one really peaked my interest. I’m an avid cryptid fan and was looking forward to seeing how Richard would put the Rickmoe spin on it but what we got was what felt like a rushed film that seems like it was put together in a few hours one evening or weekend. The humor misses it’s mark, which is unusual for Richard, but I did find myself laughing at one scene.
Finally, the film doesn’t have the cheap effects that you come to expect from a Rickmoe production. We get a mask used as a puppet and the scene that made me laugh which consisted of children’s toys in a bathtub. If you were looking for no budget deaths then you are out of luck. Overall, Ogopogo: The Mysterious Snake from the Lake was not for me. I’m sure there is some Rickmoe fans out there that appreciate this newest project from Richard Mogg but it was a tough one for me to finish. I wanted to like it but I found very little enjoyment ouf ot it. Skit it.
